All Momo could hear was the cries of her classmates under attack and the sounds of quirks battling against each other. She was leaning on her good leg and waiting until what seemed like a good moment to run back into battle. Todoroki was nowhere in sight.

She let out a deep breath and slowly crept towards the battlefield. Rubble had been moved out of the way so that the heroes could have access to the building and Momo could see her classmates rushing in. She was sneaking behind pieces of rock so that she wouldn't be spotted.

Endeavor was standing in front of the building, flames crawling up his arms and onto his shoulders. His aquamarine eyes glinted with fury. He caught Momo's eye and nodded to her, motioning for her to run into the building behind him.

The wind around Momo was roaring in her ears from the force of everybody's quirks being used at once. She didn't have time to look around before rushing forward to Endeavor, eager to see if she could find Shouto.

As she was running, Momo felt blood drip down her leg and a sharp pain run down her calf. She tried ignoring it and shaking her head, leaping over a piece of stone that had fallen in her path. She was approaching Endeavor and the entrance to the collapsing structure before a warm hand grabbed her by the throat and pulled her close.

Momo's breath got caught in her throat and she felt a wave of anxiety crash over her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a black jacket and the hand on her throat had sickening purple stitches on it. Her head was forced against the shoulder of a tall man with raven-colored hair and piercing blue eyes just as striking as Endeavor and Shouto's.

"Dabi," Endeavor's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Momo felt her heart pick up speed as the villain's hand wrapped tighter around her throat.

"Where's your boyfriend, huh?" Dabi growled in Momo's ear. She wrapped her hands around his arm and tried to force his hand away, but he pulled her closer.

"Let me go," Momo hissed through her teeth. 

Dabi stared straight ahead without looking at her, "You're my bait," he smirked. 

Endeavor was watching Dabi with venomous eyes.  He didn't move, but his arm was extended outward like he was going to try and grab Momo.

Where's Shouto? Momo wondered anxiously. She didn't want him to try and save her; Dabi said she was his bait, so he was going to try and hurt him in some way.

Dabi chuckled beside Momo's ear. "Endeavor, can you do me a favor and get your candy cane of a son out here?" he tipped his head to the side.

The flame hero's fists clenched. "You're not getting anywhere near him." he snarled.

"You sure about that?" Dabi challenged. He gripped Momo's right wrist in his own tightly. "'Cause this is gonna hurt like hell."

Before Momo could do anything, Dabi's hand heated up to an unbearable amount. She could feel her skin begin to sizzle as flames erupted out of his palm. An indescribable pain exploded out of her arm, and she let out a shriek as blood began to trickle down to the ground beside them.

She thrashed around, trying desperately to get out of Dabi's grasp. She threw her head backward in an attempt to hit him in the face, but he quickly ducked away. Her arm began to tremble and her voice cracked as she let out another cry, tears running down her face.

Finally, Dabi's hand cooled down. Momo was shaking in pain and her face was burning red. She refused to glance down at her arm, terrified about what she might see. Tears were clouding her vision and she could just barely manage to move the fingers on her right hand.

Her screams must have rattled through the whole building because all of a sudden there was an eerie silence. Momo glanced up and saw a few of her classmates watching her from the entrance. Uraraka had tears in her eyes and her hands were clamped over her mouth, hiding her sobs.

"Come on, not even those cries got his attention?" Dabi sneered. "He's either dead or hates you."

Momo's legs went limp and she nearly collapsed into the villain's arms. She forced herself to stand and grit her teeth. "He's too busy kicking your friends' asses," she spat, her voice quiet from pain.

"Is that right?" Dabi's hand began to warm up again, and Momo let out a cry of fear. She threw her body to the side and felt her wrist slip from his grasp when he pressed his hand to her throat.

"I will burn your neck so fucking bad your head will roll off your shoulders." The villain growled. Momo let out a whimper of fear and closed her eyes, tears escaping them.

"What do you want with her?" Shouto's voice called over the concerned whispers of Momo's classmates. She opened her eyes to see him standing a little further behind his father. His eyes were narrow and his hands were shaking. Aizawa had appeared too and was standing with crossed arms at the entrance.

Momo let out a sob of relief at the sight of him. Dabi smirked and pressed his fingers onto Momo's throat so that she could barely breathe. "Oh I don't want her, I was just looking for you. She was just a lure."

"Let her go," Endeavor snapped. He took a step forward and reached out towards Momo, but Dabi took three steps back. 

"Tsk tsk tsk," Dabi warned. "If you take one more step I'll burn her to a crisp," Shouto shook his head slowly and widened his eyes. 

"Now- I was going to let her go, but I don't think that's good enough. She has one of two options: I can bring her with us," he squeezed her throat, "Or you can say for final words and I'll kill you right here."

Momo closed her eyes and swallowed back a cry. She took a deep, shaky breath and glanced over her shoulder at Dabi.

"I fucking hate you." 

"Bad choice," he whispered. His hand began to burn on her neck, and she let out a scream of agony. It felt like somebody had set off a bomb in her throat. Pain sizzled beneath Dabi's palm and she felt her voice give out on her. Her knees and arms trembled and she felt herself begin to blackout; until suddenly the heat stopped.

Momo opened her tear-filled eyes and saw Azaiwa standing in front of Dabi. His hair was floating up around his face and his fists were clenched. Momo let out a shaky breath of relief and Endeavor rushed forward to Dabi. He pushed Dabi away from Momo, which caused her to collapse to her knees.

"Here, stand up," Shouto had rushed forward to Momo. He slid a hand around her waist and hooked the other one around over his shoulders. She leaned onto his side, her throat scalding hot and exploding with pain.

After Endeavor attacked Dabi, all of the battles resumed where they had left off. Momo could hear the triumphant cries of her classmates and the explosions of quirks. Shouto had led her away from the battlefield and settled her down behind a barrier that they were using as protection.

He kneeled down beside her and didn't say a word before pulling her into a hug and resting his chin on her shoulder. He was shaking and his hands grasped her hair like he was trying to make sure she was real. Momo barely had any strength, but she managed to crack a smile and fall into the hug.

"It's okay," Shouto pulled away and picked up her right wrist. He gently traveled his fingers around her wound, and Momo let out a cry of pain before he squeezed her hand. "You're gonna be okay. I'm not leaving you here."

Momo reached up and rested her hand on her neck. She could feel the burn that Dabi had left, and talking had caused her great pain, but she had to speak. "Thank you, S-Shouto," she coughed, a tear falling down her face. "You should go fight."

He narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "Momo, I'm not leaving you here."

"Why not?"

"Stop it," Shouto shifted so that he was sitting beside her. "If Dabi lays a hand on you one more time I'll lose my fucking mind," Momo smiled at him silently. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

When she opened her eyes again, she saw Shouto staring at her with eyes full of an emotion she had never seen on him before. A breeze drifted by from the use of everybody's quirks that blew his hair up around his face, and Momo's gaze trailed the outline of his scar. She slowly reached up a hand and rested a hand on his cheek, her thumb just grazing the scar.

Shouto rested his head in her hand and his dual-colored eyes flickered down to her lips for just a split second. Momo's heartbeat quickened and she held her breath. The battlefield around them sank away, the rubble sank away, the pain sank away, and it was just them. She leaned forward ever so slightly so that their lips were just inches away from each other. 

There was only one split second that Momo wanted to pull away. She wanted to stand up and run as far away from Shouto as she could, but as soon as their lips touched, all of those uncertainties washed away immediately. Her eyes fluttered closed and she felt her heart nearly stop. Shouto took his other hand and ran it through her black hair before resting it softly on the side of her neck. 

One last tear ran down Momo's face at this time, but it wasn't from sadness. She realized now that she cared about Shouto more than any other person. She could only imagine what he was feeling, but she hoped he was just as excited as she was. This was the closest that they had ever been and Momo felt like a dam that was blocking out her emotions had just broken, and everything came rushing out. She smiled into the kiss and realized right there that she never wanted to pull away.

______

....i'll give you guys time to let that all sink in

don't forget to leave comments and feedback! that helps keep me motivated to keep writing :) <3

HELLO! i tried to make up for not posting for so long so i gave you guys this! i hope this story is still engaging for you, i love writing it, it's just difficult with everything going on in the world right now

ALSO: i started watching more anime recently! i obviously never really stopped, but i just hadn't sat down and watched some for a super long time! I'm rewatching my old favorites like Ouran High School Host Club, Maid Sama, Kamisama Kiss, Fruits Basket, (I'm a sucker for romance animes) and started a few new ones. 

one final thing: I want to start naming the chapters and rename the old ones, but I'm clueless on what to name them so if you guys could help me out that'd be awesome!

also excuse any spelling errors please! I'm not feeling amazing atm because it's 2:30 in the morning O_O